24 THE ARCTIC PRAIRIES 



tails of wrecks by rail and sea. Roosevelt and the 

 trusts — insurance scandals — the lynchings in the South 

 — the burnings in the West — massacres — murders — 

 horrors — risings — these were his special gloats, and yet 

 he kept me going with "Yes — yes — and then?" or 

 "Yes, by golly — that's the way we're a-doing it. Go 

 on." 



Then, after I had robbed New York of $100,000,000 

 a year, burnt 10 large towns and 45 small ones, wrecked 

 200 express trains, lynched 96 negroes in the South — 

 and murdered many men every night for 7 years in 

 Chicago — he broke out: 



"By golly, we are a-doing it. We are the people. 

 We are a-moving things now; and I tell you I give 

 the worst of them there European countries, the very 

 worst of 'em, just 100 years to become Americanised." 



Think of that, ye polished Frenchmen; ye refined, 

 courteous Swedes; ye civilised Danes; you have 100 

 years to become truly Americanised! 



All down the river route we came on relics of another 

 class of wanderers — the IQondikers of 1898. Some- 

 times these were empty winter cabins; sometimes 

 curious tools left at Hudson's Bay Posts, and in some 

 cases expensive provisions; in all cases we heard weird 

 tales of their madness. 



There is, I am told, a shanty on the Mackenzie above 

 Simpson, where four of them made a strange record. 

 Cooped up for months in tight winter quarters, they 

 soon quarrelled, and at length their partnership was 

 dissolved. Each took the articles he had contributed, 

 and those of common purchase they divided in four 



